Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Trading 7.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) shares traded up 7.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $64.97 and last traded at $64.6330. 150,336 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 473,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Chefs’ Warehouse in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Chefs’ Warehouse Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.37 and a 200-day moving average of $61.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.36 million. Chefs’ Warehouse had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 1.85%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James Leddy sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $1,366,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 125,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,819,152.12. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHEF. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 515.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 91.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies a broad range of high‐end ingredients and culinary products to professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, and other foodservice operators. Headquartered in Maspeth, New York, the company sources its portfolio from local artisans, boutique producers and leading global suppliers. Its core offerings include fresh and frozen proteins, specialty cuts of meat and seafood, handcrafted cheeses and charcuterie, seasonal produce, value‐added preparations, pantry staples and premium desserts and beverages.

The company operates a network of distribution centers strategically located in major metropolitan markets across North America.